Fire extinguisher



May 29, 1951 R. w. AUSTIN FIRE EXTINGUISHER Filed April 9, 1949 fl HIIIIIHII INVENTOR. 204% M 40:7??? BY 9. Ska.

ATTORNEP Patented May 29, 1951 FIRE EXTINGUISHER Ralph W. Austin, Weymouth, Mass., assignor to Knight and Thomas Incorporated, Somerville Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 9, 1949, Serial No. 86,499

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a fire extinguisher.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel and improved portable fire extinguisher of the type having an upper compartment provided with filling openings to facilitate filling of the extinguisher in which provision is made for reducing to a minimum loss of liquid through the filling openings during handling and transportation of the extinguisher and which is designed to prevent the admission of foreign matter into the filling chamber whereby to maintain the extinguisher in efficient operating condition.

With this general object in view, and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the fire extinguisher and in the various structures, arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a fire extinguisher embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in cross-section, as viewed from the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional detail view taken on the line 4--t of Fig. 2.

In general, the present invention contemplates a novel portable fire extinguisher of the pump. type comprising a container or tank having a supply chamber for holding a supply of the extinguishing liquid and having an upper compartment arranged to facilitate introduction of the liquid into the tank through communicating openings between the upper compartment and the supply chamber. In accordance with the present invention, the partitioning member between the liquid chamber and the upper compartment is provided with a baffle member disposed above and enclosing the communicating openings, the end walls of the bafile member being perforated to admit the extinguishing liquid from the upper compartment and through the communicating openings into the supply chamber. In practice, the bafiie member serves to prevent excessive loss of liquid through the communicating openings during handling and transportation of the extinguisher such as when subjected to excessive jouncing or shaking, and the perforated end walls of the bafiie member serve to strain or filter the liquid and to prevent the entrance of foreign matter or solid particles into the supply chamber. The perforated straining walls are disposed vertically in the upper compartment and are easily accessible for removing any foreign matter to prevent clogging and to maintain the perforations clear and clean. Pro.- vision is also made in the preferred embodiment of the invention for venting the tank to permit rapid filling and discharge of the tank, and for operatively supporting the nozzle of the discharge hose in the upper compartment when testing the pumping unit to eiieot discharge of the liquid into the compartment to drain back into the supply chamber.

Referring now to the drawings, the illustrated portable fire extinguisher comprises in general, a tank If! in which a supply of the extinguish-.- ing liquid I2 is carried, and a manually operated double action pump unit it mounted in the tank by which the liquid may be discharged in a con tinuous stream through a discharge hose 16 have ing a nozzle H. The extinguishing liquid 12 may comprise water or any of the usual chemis cally treated liquids now in use for extinguishing fires. The tank In may comprise a metal container, herein shown as rectangular in form and having side walls I8, a bottom end panel 20 and a top end panel 22, the end panels be-. ing preferably soldered or welded to the side walls I8 to form a liquid chamber 24. The side walls It! may and preferably will be provided with inwardly depressed ridges is around the inside of the tank for cooperation with the end panels to define the spacing of the panels dur: ing assembly of the tank and to assist in form-. ing a water tight joint between the panels and the side walls. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the top panel 22, comprising a partitioning member, is disposed a substantial distance below the top of the extended side walls I8, as shown, to form therewith a corn:v partment 26 above the liquid chamber, and the partitioning member is provided with a plurality of elongated slots 28 forming filling openings so that in the operation of filling the tank the liquid may be poured into the compartment 26 and retained therein while it drains into the chamber 24, through the filling openings 28.

In accordance with the present invention, the upper panel or partitioning member 22 is pro.- vided with a baffie member 3!] adjacent the fill-v ing openings 28, herein shown as comprising an angle piece having a horizontal leg 32 spaced above the openings and extended from one wall l8 across the top of the openings and a vertical leg 33 extended upwardly from the panel mem-.- ber 22, thus forming a substantially rectangular enclosure above the openings 28. The ends of the bafile member terminate short of the adjacent side walls l8 and are provided with upstanding perforated end walls 34 through which the liquid may pass from the compartment 26 and through the filling openings into the liquid supply chamber 24. The ends of the legs 32, 33 of the angle piece may be welded or otherwise secured to wall l8 and panel 22 respectively. The partitioning panel 22 may also be provided with a vent opening, herein shown as defined by an upstanding tubular member 88 disposed in one corner of the compartment 28 and in communication with an opening in the panel 22. The upper end of the tube 38 terminates short of the top of the compartment and is provided with ;a baflie or cover member 38 spaced from the upper end of the tube and connected to the upper edges of the adjacent side walls l8, as illustrated.

With this construction it will be seen that in operation the tank may be conveniently and rapidly filled and that during handling or transportation of the extinguisher any liquid which may be inadvertently splashed out of the inlet holes 28 into the compartment 28 will be retained therein and readily returned to the liquid chamber 24 through the inlet openings 28. The balile member 38 disposed above and enclosing the area about the openings 28 serves to reduce to a minimum loss of liquid through the filling openings during excessive jouncing or shaking of the extinguisher, the baffle member serving to counteract displacement of the liquid and the Perforated end walls 34 serving to some extent as an obstruction to prevent a sudden surge of liquid through the openings during such handling. In practice, by the time the liquid has passed through the perforated openings in the ends 34 of the baffle member, the force of the displaced liquid is broken and reduced to a quiescent state to drain back into the tank. During the filling operation, the perforated end walls 34 of the battle member 38 serve to strain or filter the liquid to prevent the admission of foreign matter into the tank, and are disposed so as to be conveniently accessible to be cleared of any such foreign matter whereby to prevent clogging of the inlet and to maintain the extinguisher in efiicient operating condition.

The pump unit l4, as above described, is preferably of the double action type operative to discharge the liquid during both the upstroke and downstroke of the pump piston. As herein shown, the illustrated pump unit includes a flanged bearing member 48 in which the pump parts are supported and which is attached to the partition panel 22 by screws 42 threadedly engaged with the annular plate member or disc 43 engaged with the underside of the panel 22. A cylinder 44, fixed at one end in the flanged supporting member 40, extends through an opening 46 in the panel 22 and plate member 43 and into the liquid chamber 24. The pump piston includes a hollow piston rod 48 having a valve unit 58 at its lower end, herein shown as comprising a valve seat 84 cooperating with a ball 88 movable between the seat 84 and a pin 88 extending across the rod 48. A sealing washer 52 is also supported on the end of the rod 48, the washer filling the annular space 72 between the outside diameter of the rod 48 and the inside diameter of the tube 44, as shown. The hollow piston rod 48 is in communication with the annular space 12 through openings 18 in the rod 48 disposed a short distance above the valve unit 50. vA handle 54 is provided at the upper end of the rod 48 and a packing nut 58 is provided to seal the upper end of the bearing member 48 in which the rod is slidingly received. The lower end of the cylinder 44 is preferably screened, as shown at 51, and is provided with an inlet forming a valve seat 58 cooperating with a ball 60 which is limited in its upward movement by a pin 82 extending across the cylinder.

In the operation of the pump when the piston rod 48 is raised it will be seen that the ball 68 will be raised from its seat 58 to permit liquid to enter the cylinder chamber 88, and that during this time the ball 86 is forced into its seat 64. It will also be seen that the liquid previously forced into the annular space 12 is pumped out through the outlet 82 and discharge hose I6 during the upward movement of the piston rod 48. Thereafter, when the rod 48 is pushed downwardly the ball 88 will seal the inlet 58 and the ball 68 will be raised to permit the liquid to enter the annular space 12 through the openings 18 to be forced upwardly and out through the discharge outlet 82. Surplus liquid will enter the openings 18 to fill up the hollow rod 48 so that during the next upstroke of the piston, the liquid thus stored may flow out into the annular space 12 through the openings 16 to be forced out through the hose [8, as above described. Thus, it will be seen that a substantially continuous discharge may be maintained during both the upstroke and downstroke of the piston member. When testing the pump, the nozzle ll of the discharge hose It may be extended through and operatively supported in a ring member 18 secured to one corner of the compartment adjacent the upper edges of the side walls, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to direct the liquid into the compartment to drain back into the supply chamber 24 during the testing operation.

A suitable handle 86 may be attached to one of the side walls [8 at the upper end thereof for convenience in carrying the extinguisher. The lower ends of the side walls l8 may be extended beyond the panel 28 to provide a base for the tank and a hinged member 88 at the lower end of the tank, normally yieldingly retained between spring arms 89, as shown, may be rocked into a fiat position to be engaged by the foot to prevent displacement of the extinguisher during the pumping operation.

From the above description it will be observed that the present construction of a portable fire extinguisher of the pump type having an upper compartment provided with filling openings and a baffle member having perforated end walls and disposed above the filling openings affords ample protection to prevent escape of liquid when the extinguisher is jounced or shaken during handling or transportation so as to reduce loss of liquid to a minimum. It will also be observed that the baflie member, being disposed in an inverted position above the filling chamber, is not subject to the accumulation of foreign matter therein, and the perforated end walls of the bafiie member through which the liquid is filtered during the filling operation are readily accessible from the outside of the tank to facilitate cleaning and removal of accumulated foreign matter whereby to maintain the extinguisher in efiicient operating condition.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been herein illustrated and described, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other forms within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a fire extinguisher of the character described, a container having a supply chamber and a filling compartment disposed above the chamber and provided with filling openings communicating with the supply chamber to permit the liquid introduced into the compartment to drain into the chamber, said filling compartment being relatively shallow and provided with a large opening in its upper end, and perforate means of a width less than the width of said opening disposed within said compartment and above the supply chamber adjacent said filling openings for reducing to a minimum displacement of the liquid from the supply chamber back into the filling compartment during handling or transportation of the fire extinguisher.

2. In a fire extinguisher of the character described, a container having a supply chamber and a filling compartment disposed above the chamber and provided with filling openings communicating with the supply chamber, said filling compartment being relatively shallow and having a relatively large opening in its upper end to permit the liquid introduced into the compartment todrain into the chamber, and a perforate baffie member of a width substantially less than the width of said opening and disposed above said chamber and cooperating with said filling openings to reduce to a minimum displacement of the liquid from the supply chamber back into the filling compartment during jouncing or shaking of the extinguisher.

3. In a fire extinguisher of the character described, a container having a supply chamber and a filling compartment disposed above the chamber and provided with filling openings communicating with the supply chamber to permit the liquid introduced into the compartment to drain into the chamber, said filling compartment being relatively shallow and provided with a large opening in its upper end, and a perforate bafile member of a width substantially less than the Width of said opening and disposed above said chamber and cooperating with said filling openings to reduce to a minimum displacement of the liquid from the supply chamber back into the filling compartment during jouncing or shaking of theextinguisher, said bafile member forming an enclosed area within said compartment and above said filling openings.

4. In a fire extinguisher of the character described, a container having a supply chamber and a filling compartment disposed above the chamber and provided with filling openings communicating with the supply chamber to permit the liquid introduced into the compartment to drain into the chamber, a pump unit having a discharge nozzle and operatively mounted in thefcontainer, and means disposed in said compartment for operatively supporting said nozzle to direct the liquid into the compartment and back into the chamber when testing the unit.

5. In a fire extinguisher of the character described, a container having a supply chamber, and a filling compartment disposed above the chamber and provided with filling openings communicating with the supply chamber to permit the liquid introduced into the compartment to drain into the chamber, a bafile member disposed within said compartment and enclosing thearea above said filling openings, said bafile member being provided with upstanding perforated end Walls for straining the liquid passing from the filling compartment into said sup-' ply chamber, said bafile member and said perforated end walls serving to render quiescent a sudden surge of liquid passing from the chamber into the compartment through said filling openings during jouncing or shaking of the container whereby to permit the displaced liquid to fiow back into the supply chamber.

6. In a fire extinguisher of the character described, a rectangular container open at its upper end, having a partition member adjacent the upper end to subdivide the container into a supply chamber and a shallow open filling chamber whose depth is substantially less than its width, said partition member having a filling opening connecting the supply chamber and filling chamber and a bafile member on the partition member disposed above the filling opening and having two perforate end walls spaced from the corresponding walls of the filling compartment whereby to reduce to a minimum displacement of the liquid from the supply chamber back into the filling chamber during jouncir'ig or shaking of the extinguisher.

RALPH W. AUSTIN.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Middleton Dec. 17, 1929 Number 

